Shifu vs Tai Lung
by Just-Me-and-My-Brain
Summary: The final battle between Shifu and Tai Lung has been put into words. Also, alternate endings and settings may be used as future chapters. Suggestions and new ideas are accepted as possible new chapters. Review and let me know what you want to read next! (Rated T to be safe. Violent scene, you know?)


Shifu stood with dignity, watching the warmth of the village fade as the long line of villagers left, leaving him to stand in a dark blue hue. This was how it ended. He watching as everyone leaves while he awaits his fate. To fight and be killed by his creation. For the innocent to survive while the guilty perished. It was fair.

The clouds above him clashed together in an angry roar, casting a dark gray darkness that drained the area of color. Wind tousled his robes and fur as it played around him. He breathed deeply, inviting the oxygen and sweet smelling air into his lungs.

He closed his eyes. He could feel his presence. He had heard the leopard approach him over the wind. A loud streak of lightning cut the sky as he opened his cold blue eyes, gazing upon his son for the first time in twenty years.

"I have come home, _master_." Tai Lung bent his shoulders in a half bow to talk to the smaller creature as he mocked him. He was testing Shifu's limits. Seeing how far he could cross the line before the teacher would attack him. He knew that. He _wanted_ Shifu to snap.

"This is no longer your home." Shifu glared at the snow leopard. "And I am no longer your master." Shifu inwardly flinched at this last statement, hating that he ever would have to be the one to say it to a former student.

"Oh, yes. You have a new _favorite_." Tai Lung's teasing dropped for a moment, revealing his utter hatred before he shook his head, regaining his joking attitude. "And where is this _Po_?" He chuckled darkly. "Did I scare him off?" He teased, eyeing the red panda as he glanced around.

"This battle is between _you_ and _me_." Shifu's cold gaze bit into Tai Lung as he narrowed his eyes, his voice ever calm as he stated the fact.

Tai Lung drew in a deep breath and turned around, glaring at him from over his shoulder. "So… that is how it's going to be…?" His question was more of a statement, already knowing the answer.

"That is how it _must_ be." Shifu jerked his body into position, falling into a fighting stance as he continued to look at the leopard.

Tai Lung uttered a deep growl, glaring at him for a second before leaping into the air, crying out as he spun himself into a kick.

Shifu squinted at the sky, trying to find the leopard in the clouds. His eyes finally found him and widened in alarm as he flipped out of the way just in time, feeling the stairs crack under his hand before he straightened up to fight again. Tai Lung had created a crater where Shifu had been standing just seconds before and, with little effort, was now pulling a large chunk of rock out from the rubble, kicking it at the panda with a growl of defiance.

"Ya!" Shifu broke the rock with all the strength he was willing to give. As the rock began to separate, shock spilled onto his face as he saw Tai Lung already pouncing for him, hitting him hard enough to make him smash through the double doors and keep flying. Shifu flipped around with a grunt and slid on the smooth, polished flooring as he fell back into a fighting stance. His back and head already pounding from the contact he's had in the fight. He ignored it, keeping a straight face as he watched Tai Lung stand outside the doors.

"I rotted in jail for _twenty years_ because of _you_!" Tai Lung marched forward, his neck extended in anger as he shot his frustrations at his old master. "_Weakness_!"

"Obeying your master is _not_ weakness!" Shifu also took a forward stance, bearing his teeth in anger as Tai Lung growled.

"You knew! _I _was the dragon warrior! You _always_ knew." Tai Lung growled the last few words, his hatred starting to boil over as his tail flickered back and forth. "_But_ when Oogway said otherwise, what did you do? _What _did _you do_?!" He sliced his arm across the air for emphasis. "_Nothing_!" He growled hoarsely, eyes flickering with betrayal and anger.

"You were not meant to be the Dragon Warrior! That was not _my_ fault!" Shifu screamed back, his chagrin getting the better of him.

"_Not your fault_?" Tai Lung taste each word, hating the bitter taste of them in his mouth as he marched toward Shifu, an accusing finger pointing at him in ire and utter disbelief of what he was hearing.

Shifu stumbled backwards, his ears flat as he tried to maintain a safe distance away from the leopard, his feet skidding and bumping as he prayed he wouldn't trip and fall.

"Who filled my head with _dreams_?" Tai Lung kicked a display table down towards the red panda, growling when it didn't hit him.

Shifu grunted as he deflected the table with his arm, leaping over it as it splintered. He backed up faster, almost running to stay away.

"Who trained me until my bones _cracked_?" Tai Lung continued towards him, throwing a heavy metal shield at his opponent.

Shifu spun to the side, barely avoiding the flattened metal before it buried itself into the support system.

"Who denied me my _destiny_?!" Tai Lung picked up a weapons rack and threw the spears at Shifu, hatred fueling his power.

"He-ya! Ha!" Shifu deflected each spear, ignoring the horrible feeling as some of the blades caught his hands, slicing them before he could move out of the way.

"Yah!" Tai Lung pounced on the handle of a sword, sending it into the air before he kicked it, sending it toward the master.

Shifu said nothing, grabbing the sword with his hands and spinning it into the ground using Tai Lung's momentum.

"It was never my decision to make!" Shifu growled, feeling the heat in the building as it came from both of them, their blood boiling towards one another. Tai Lung's words echoed in his head as the leopard to half a step forward towards him, each accusation hurting more than anything else on his body.

Tai Lung moved to attack Shifu as something caught his eye from the corner. He quickly changed his direction and greeted the thing he saw.

Oogway's staff. It was set up with a shrine. _That means… Oogway is dead_. He connected the facts in his head, knowing this had to be the case as Oogway would never had left Shifu to fight alone and die.

Shifu watched with a mixture of worry and concern as Tai Lung gently picked up the staff and turned back towards him.

"It is now." He held the staff out.

Shifu's anger flared then. He was done playing defense. How _dare_ he desecrate Oogway's shrine! He sped towards Tai Lung, kicking him in the hip and growling in annoyance as the leopard was fast enough to block the kick to the head.

He groaned as the leopard kicked him away, landing on the ground before leaping again, both animals flipping over each other.

Shifu launched himself again and was shocked when he felt the head of the staff make contact with his neck, slamming him hard into the pillar before flipping him around and trapping him on the ground.

Shifu groaned from the pain of hitting the pillar and the ground so hard, automatically starting to struggle to hold the staff away from his neck.

"Give. Me. The scroll." Tai Lung said slowly, pushing down on the stick.

"I would rather _die_." Shifu bared his teeth as he growled back, holding the staff away.

Tai Lung growled in compliance, ready to hold him to his statement as he pushed down as hard as he could.

Shifu groaned, his arms starting to weaken, as the staff got closer, obviously intent on breaking his windpipe.

Both heard the cracking before it happened. The staff snapped in two, unable to handle the extreme amounts of strength being exerted against it.

Tai Lung used the momentum, readying himself for another attack.

Shifu was instantly on his hands and knees, catching his breath as he watched the staff. The breaking of the only thing left to remember his master by hurting more than anything else.

"Ye-a!" Tai Lung kicked the panda, carrying him across the room with it.

Shifu tried to grunt but found that he was lacking all forms of air in his lungs. He squeezed his eyes shut, feeling the muffled cracks as the ribs on that side of his body broke from the impact.

He flipped himself around, landing with his feet on the wall as he used his head to throw Tai Lung away.

Both landed in the rubble, staring at each other. Shifu leaped off, jumping from pillar to pillar as his animal instincts flooded his body, desperate to get away from the predator that was chasing him.

He leaped with all his strength finding himself clinging to the ceiling. His eyes opened wide as realization hit him.

He was going to die.

He had already accepted this, but until now the full impact of this event hadn't found it's way into the deepest parts of his soul. And now, trapped on the ceiling with nowhere to run, it struck him- harder than Tai Lung ever could. He was going to die. Somewhere he had maintained hope. He had been taught never to give up or resign himself to ideas. To fight until there was no way to do so. He had maintained a hope that something would happen. Someone would come. Someone would have stayed. Or that somehow he would be able to defeat Tai Lung. The last one was the most impossible. To defeat- to _kill_- Tai Lung, his son? Not even fathomable. The thought of it made him sick with nausea.

This realization hit him within no more than a second, because within a second, Tai Lung had caught up to him, tackling him as he smashed him into the ceiling, breaking them both out into the thunderous sky.

They locked into battle before they could even begin their decent back down to the building.

Tai Lung landed a kick to Shifu's head and blocked as the panda tried to return the kick. He struck out hard, punching the master with a swift blow to the head. Shifu aimed forward, kicking and hitting nimbly as they started their decent. Tai Lung struck again, spinning the panda around before unsheathing his claws, catching Shifu's arm and back before the panda could move.

Shifu flipped, landing on the leopard's back and grabbing a fistful of fur, kicking hard down on Tai Lung's neck.

He grunted in pain as Tai Lung's elbow came around and struck him, throwing him off his back. The snow leopard grabbed him tightly, holding him down as the got closer to the roof.

Shifu stared up at the leopard in utter fear, his ears flapping wildly in the wind as he tried to gauge how much farther to impact the building was. He glanced down and winced heavily as his head broke through the tiles, making his vision go black for a second. He regained sight, watching as the leopard kicked him in the chest, sending him crashing into a pillar.

His strength was gone. He tried for a second to grab the marble but quickly felt his body unwillingly relax, falling down to the rubble. He groaned when he hit the marble, lying on the ground unmoving. His entire body felt swollen and heavy. There were too many things broken to count. His breathing was becoming increasingly labored and forced as his small heart tried to handle the injuries, abuse, and adrenaline all at once.

He pulled himself to his feet as he saw Tai Lung come at him, his paws aflame as he roared.

He jumped quickly out of the way of the first glowing blow, bringing his arms up for defense.

"What I ever did, I did to make _you_ proud!" Tai Lung struck him, his arms barely having enough strength to deflect the blow. The strikes kept coming, getting harder and harder as Shifu tried to avoid them. Each one hit him somehow, throwing him a few inches before landing and getting tossed again by another hit.

"Tell me how proud you are, Shifu!" He half mocked him, striking him harder.

Shifu felt a heavy blow knock into his head just below his ear, sending him stumbling back. Another punch, barely blocked, hit his shoulder, making his arm go numb from the nerves being over-stimulated. Tai Lung struck again, relentless as he caught his jaw, making his head swivel toward his other fist.

"Tell me!" He was using all his strength, hitting Shifu hard enough to make his head and body literally spin.

Shifu could feel his vision starting to get fuzzy, blackness surrounding the edges as he tried to look at his son, no longer capable of blocking.

The smell of burning fur and scorched flesh was surrounding him, he wasn't sure if it was his body or Tai Lung's paws, but either way, it was making him nauseous.

Two heavy blows struck in close succession at his ribs, one blow breaking some and the other pulverizing that which was already broken. He grunted, unable to do anything about it as he was thrown around. At the second blow his legs began to give out, he nearly hit the floor before the last blow could even be struck.

"_Tell me!_" Tai Lung cried, sending out a double punch that caused Shifu to fly away, half-dead as he was thrown across the hall. A crunch sounded through the landing of the punch, signaling that somewhere, something had broken that was important.

Shifu hit the ground hard on his head, bouncing and rolling across the floor harshly before finally coming to a painful halt on the stairs to the moon pool.

He groaned in extreme pain, his eyes half open as he fought his way back to conciseness. He panted heavily, his lungs threatening to give out as he supported himself with his arms. His legs refused to move, wither they had given out from the stress or if they had been the source of the crack- he didn't know; his whole body was surrounded by too much intense pain for him to know what was wrong.

He opened his eyes wide enough to see past the approaching darkness, staring up at Tai Lung as he tried to hide the pain from his enemy.

"I have… always been proud of you." Shifu panted, the confession taking both physical and emotional strength to talk through. He could see Tai Lung approaching from out of the corner of his eye.

"From the first moment… I've been…" A wave of dizziness struck him, making him pause for a second. "Proud of you." He fought to continue. He was going to die. He needed to apologize- to atone for his sins before his end came. He needed to tell his son the truth.

"And it was _my pride_… that blinded me." He took a breath. "I loved you to much to see what you were becoming." He forced himself to look up, his body screaming at him to relax as his neck craned up to see the snow leopard. "What _I_…was turning you into." He caught his breath, lungs constricting as they forced him to bow his head to get relief. "I'm s…" He trailed off for a second before looking back up at his son. "I'm sorry."

He watched Tai Lung, mentally urging him to rethink his ways as he saw the leopard unfocused with clear indecision. _Please… please Tai Lung… _His thoughts were all frozen as fear encroached on his soul, sending a wave of chills through his body while he watched the leopard growl, hardening all of his resolve as he lunged at him.

Tai Lung's paw encompassed Shifu's neck, forcing him on his back as his small paws clawed at his fur.

"I don't want your apology." Tai Lung squeezed harder as he lifted the panda up, surprised when he saw that his legs were unmoving and limp. "I want my scroll." He growled, shaking him roughly while glaring at him.

Shifu wheezed, desperately tugging at the snow leopard's paw as his lungs burst into flames from the lack of oxygen.

"What?!" Tai Lung looked for the scroll, seeing that it was no longer where he thought it was. "Where is _it_?!"

Tai Lung lifted him higher to gain momentum before slamming him with every fiber of his being into the stairs.

Shifu screamed, unable to hide the pain any longer as he felt his neck and back crack on the steps, a small crater surrounding him now.

He took a shaky breath before Tai Lung reinforced his grip. "Dragon Warrior has taken scroll…" Tai Lung tightened his grip. "_China_ by now." He coughed, body convulsing as he gagged at the lack of oxygen and abundance of pain infiltrating his mind. Blackness was surrounding him, soaking into his body and making it heavy before it started to take his vision.

"You will never see that scroll, _Tai Lung_." Shifu shook his head, ears twitching back to life as he picked up the sound of him unsheathing his claws.

"Never!" He fought the word and forced it out, eyes bulging from suffocation before he could screw his eyes closed.

Tai Lung was tightening his grip with every second. More and more weight choked his neck.

"_N-never_." Shifu began drifting off, his body felt like it was floating, he could feel his body slowly shutting down. His ears went limp as his eyes rolled back into the inviting darkness.

He faintly heard a growl and someone interrupting. _Po…? Is that… Po?_ His mind drifted. He felt himself get lifted up roughly and again heard someone talking. Although this time is sounded like Tai Lung. After a moment he felt himself being thrown.

He hit the top platform with nothing but a thud, his mind barely realized enough of what was happening to realize that he could breath again. He sensed he was alone.

After all of that. He had been thrown away. Like trash. Maybe that's what he was though. He laid on the cool stone floor, reveling in it's smooth and cold feeling under his aching body.

He was still alive.

How?

He slowly sifted through the darkness finding his way back to the real world. He opened his eyes, allowing him to take in the destruction of his fight.

The hall was a disaster area, weapons were strewn everywhere, rubble littered the floor, the hole in the ceiling allowed water to slowly drip into the building. The oil from the fallen lamp was still burning, etching grooves into the floor. The door was broken and half-way off it's hinges.

How _did_ he survive?

He didn't know. But he knew that he was going to be sore for a very long time.

He felt a pair of rumbling footsteps as they approached him. And he knew it was going to be okay.


End file.
